If you work in the transport of goods, you may one day need to call on a maritime lawyer! If you don't know what it is, no problem: we explain everything to you!

A maritime lawyer is, by definition...

A specialist in maritime and transport law! 

In other words, 'he knows all the rules concerning the transport of goods by sea, and everything that follows from them: the seizure of ships, the various events at sea, disputes following the sale of ships, the occupation of all public maritime domains, or even what concerns maritime pollution. In addition, such a lawyer will be able to advise and guide you on the life of the ship at all stages of its existence.

When to call upon a maritime lawyer?

It is possible to contact a maritime transport lawyer for various reasons. For example, if you work in the import or export of goods and you find yourself faced with a dispute, and in order to defend the various interests of the consignees before, for example, the commercial courts in metropolitan France or overseas. The many skills of a maritime lawyer in maritime and/or river law will surely be welcome in certain situations you may be confronted with!

How can a maritime lawyer help you?

Like any lawyer specialising in various fields, a maritime lawyer will be able to listen to your problem and your situation in order to support you and advise you on appropriate solutions or reactions. Moreover, in the event of a dispute, he will be able to take your defence so that justice is done. In short, a maritime lawyer is a person you can trust and who will be able to help you in delicate situations related to the transport of goods. 

Testimony: Jean, 52 years old, called on a maritime lawyer

"I have been working for several years in the export of goods abroad. At the beginning of my career, when I discovered the trade, I was quite surprised to find that I found myself having to pay customs duties for any shipment of goods, even within Europe. After a long period of wondering about this, I decided to call in a lawyer specialising in transport law to clarify the situation. He listened very carefully and explained to me that there was in fact a treaty which stipulated that it was forbidden to impose customs duties between the different member countries of the European Union. And this, even if in the country concerned there is a law imposing these customs duties: the European treaties take over!"

Today we are going to meet 2 of our readers who are business leaders. They will share with us their experience of commercial cases in which litigation has arisen. Their objectives are to inform and sensitize young professionals in the world of commerce to the legislation in force. Here are their testimonials:   

Edouard, 54 years old, director of a toy sales company in Cannes:

I work in the export of goods within the European Union. When I started out, I was surprised to have to pay customs duties when exporting my products to the Netherlands. What opened my eyes was when I watched a programme about trade between EU countries. Without further ado I contacted transport lawyers.

He confirmed to me that between members of the European Union we are subject to a treaty which stipulates that we are not allowed to apply customs duties between EU members. He also explained to me that even if in a member country there is a national law that states that all international trade must be subject to customs duties, according to the hierarchy of norms, international and European treaties have a greater value than the law. 

So I filed a complaint so that all the customs duties I paid would be returned to me.  

Magalie, 27 years old, self-employed in Monaco selling clothes: 

With the coronavirus, like many entrepreneurs, I started creating a website. Being quite young and informed about RGPD, I thought I could manage the creation of my website on my own. Indeed it seemed easy, I just had to create an account in one of these platforms allowing me to create a site easily, enter my products and voila.

My website stayed for several months as it was, with some product descriptions. What a surprise I had when one of my customers used her right of withdrawal 2 months after ordering her product. 

At that moment I decided to find out if she had the legal right to do so, and I saw that the withdrawal period was valid for 14 days from receipt. However, as I did not mention this on my website, I had no choice but to reimburse her. I then turned to a commercial lawyer and a consumer ombudsman to ensure that my site complied with the laws in force.